Second Time

Chapter 23 - Setting Goals

"One more layer," Shao Yue urged. "You can do it."

A bead of sweat ran down Cai Fei's forehead and fell from her face. She focused her entire being on the near-complete Core in her dantian, carefully guiding the outer layer inward to join with the rest of it.

Shao Yue suppressed her presence and breathing for the few minutes it took Cai Fei to finish. She reached out and touched the tip of her finger to Cai Fei's stomach, beneath her belly button.

"Move the Core to the center, right where my finger is. Then, let it go."

A burst of qi fluctuations washed over the room, laced with the aura of Cai Fei's Spirit.

"You did it," Shao Yue said. "Congratulations, you're now in the Core Formation Realm. How do you feel?"

Cai Fei let out a long breath. "Stiff."

In order to form her Core, she had been in meditation for over three hours. She stretched out her limbs. The qi flowing through her body felt distinctly different, but as she was examining it, she noticed all of her qi was flowing backwards through her meridians to her dantian.

"Huh?" Cai Fei looked down at her body. "Something weird is going on."

"It's already happening?" Shao Yue raised her brows. "I didn't expect it so soon."

"What is it?"

"The precursor to your Spirit's evolution."

Cai Fei flexed her fingers and frowned. "I can't draw out qi."

"There's not a lot of records about the Black Wind Caterpillar since it's so rare," Shao Yue said, bringing a hand to her chin. "But from what's there, it seems that when the cultivator reaches Core Formation, they have a period of time of about a year where they can't use qi. Any qi that gets refined will be absorbed by the Spirit to accelerate its growth."

"So, should I keep refining, or not?"

"Keep doing it, habits are powerful and the sooner it evolves, the better."

Cai Fei nodded. "I guess I can't practise martial techniques, though."

"True, but there are other things you can work on." Shao Yue pulled six books, a blunt sword, and a bottle of pills from her storage ring. "This is a body tempering technique, the Dragon Turtle Body. It's a good all-around technique that can increase your strength a hundredfold while also improving your body's durability. These pills are body refinement pills to help you cultivate it."

Cai Fei flipped through the book. "I can learn this without qi? And it won't make me all muscular, right?"

"Correct, your appearance won't change. It affects your vital essence, so qi is unnecessary."

"And I assume these are sword manuals?"

"Indeed. These are introductory manuals for five different sword styles that I think will suit you. After going through them, pick the one you like best and learn the motions. When you regain your qi, I'll give you the techniques for that style."

Cai Fei read through the titles of each book. "Which style do you use?"

"I was known as the Sword Empress. I know pretty much every style that exists or is going to exist in the next two thousand years. The one I personally use is probably impossible for anyone else to learn. It's called the Celestial Sword, and it requires a strong understanding of both the Sword Dao and the Dao of Stars."

"A lofty name." Cai Fei picked up the left-most book and started to skim it.

"Do you think you could set up an array around the training dummy that makes it give out a burst of energy one second after being struck?"